How long have you used your CPAP Machine?

[deerhound]

7 years.

[TheDuke]

I have been using CPAP and BiPaP for over 27 years. My first machine was a Healthdyne Tranquility which served me faithfully for 12 years , and then I got my first BiLevel. The wonderful old Healthdyne still works, and I use it to generate airflow for drying my hose and mask after I give them their weekly scrub-down.
Like many other posters, I initially had a really bad time with masks for a long while. I acclimated to using the machine, and had virtually instant improvement, but those first masks were torture. Fortunately one of my various doctors through the years insisted that I try a Resmed Mirage Activa- I have used Activas for maybe 10 years now, and likely will never change again.

[Captain_Midnight]

Just a few weeks over 10 years. (Converted from cpap to apap in the second year, best decision ever.)

Aaaandd, never missed a single night's treatment in that time.

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[Journey to Sleep]

5 years. Diagnosed at an early age (21). Funny how I feel so much better physically in my mid-late twenties than my college years. heh

[pxm0675]

I'm at 8 years...I know there are some here as long as 15 years...but... what difference does it make as long as we are being helped.

Hi LSAT,

You asked 'what difference does it make as long as we are being helped' ?. There are some very important and beneficial information that we can learn the length one has ha been using the CPAP machine. For example, we can learn about the longevity of these machines based on how long one has been using them, brand type, older versus new machines to mention just a few.

[pxm0675]

5 months and 5 masks. Back on my original F10 ffm.

That is one mask per month. Very interesting. Any reason for going back to original F10 ffm?

[pxm0675]

4 years here...have tried just about all the nasal pillow masks, and all the new nasal masks, thank goodness for return insurance *smile*. Still with the Swift FX, that was my second mask after a short stint with the Swift LT. DME didn't have the Swift FX in stock when I got my cpap machine, so started with the Swift LT for a couple of weeks.

Closest I came to switching away from the Swift FX was the AirFit P10, but the headgear just isn't stable enough for me, leaks kept waking me up. I did try the P10 for months, though, since it is quiet and light, but no go.

Hi RogerSC,

Based on your personal experiences, please explain why you switched from Swift LT to Swift FX? Is Swift LT considered less beneficial in term of comfortable compared to Swift FX?

[Pugsy]

Based on your personal experiences, please explain why you switched from Swift LT to Swift FX? Is Swift LT considered less beneficial in term of comfortable compared to Swift FX?

I am not Roger but thought you might like to hear my experience with the Swift LT vs the Swift FX.
When I first started cpap therapy the Swift LT was the go to nasal pillow mask from ResMed and there was no Swift FX available when I first started therapy. I used the Swift LT for about a year I guess it was until the Swift FX became available. The Swift LT is/was a nice little mask but I personally like to have the least amount of "stuff" on my face as possible and if you look at the Swift LT and look at the Swift FX the side things are different. The LT has a rigid plastic thing that while I used it...always sort of annoyed me because it just seemed to close to my eyes and tended to give me mask indentations across my cheeks that annoyed me unless I wore a strap cover that was heavier than what ResMed supplied.
The Swift FX uses a much more flexible cheek strap and it was more comfortable and didn't make me feel like something was just about in my eye.
The nasal pillows themselves are almost identical in terms of fit and how they felt...for me the reason I went with the Swift FX over the LT back then was the headgear and mainly what it did on my cheeks.

Which brings me to the latest ResMed nasal pillow mask...the AirFit P10...even less headgear on my head and face plus the vent noise is essentially non existent for it.
In terms of vent noise....the LT had the greatest vent noise...the FX less than the LT but the P10 hugely less than the FX.
In general when new models of any mask is released they will come with some improvements that make that new model a better mask for some people for various reasons.
They won't please everyone...like Roger doesn't like the less stability of the the P10 and prefers the more stable FX...but me...I will give up a little stability to have less crap on my face and head and a nearly silent vent which also means my husband doesn't get cold air blowing on him in the middle of the night. So I prefer the P10 over the Swift FX and the poor old Swift LT is so far down on my preference list that I won't ever want to use it again.

We all have our own personal preferences and needs and your preferences and needs might be similar to mine or they might be totally different. This is a road you have to travel to figure out just what particular features of any mask may either make it or break it for a mask.

I can successfully use a number of different masks but for various reasons they don't tick all my preferences boxes....the P10 ticks off more boxes...it still isn't perfect (no mask ever is) but it does what I want right now.
Later if another nasal pillow mask is released by someone...I will probably try it to see how many of my preference boxes it ticks off...never know how any mask will actually do until I try it.

[ajayjaink]

40 nights.

I've improved from an AHI of 134.8 of complex, mixed apnea and O2 sat level floor of 66% to an average AHI of 7.65 (2.35 OSA and 5.29 centrals). I am working with my doctor to increase the medications for my heart that also bring those centrals down, while also using supplemental oxygen. I'm feeling much better and having some restorative sleep! I am having some leaks, but according to SH nothing major, but more than I would like.

For central I was advised to check my Vit B12 levels, which indeed were found deficient. Taking B12 supplements reduced the CA count dramatically. You may like to get your B12 checked.

[Tootiredtosleep]

19 minutes. I had problems with chest being painful after the 19 minutes and still painful 2 hours after I stop using the machine.

Finally have a solution to the problem. Hopefully I will be able to use it pain free.

[mcpascalns]

Thank you Pugsy for sharing your insightful experience between the the Swift LT and the Swift FX masks.

[Zoopshine]

A whopping 3 months, and counting!

I seem to be one of the rare individuals who had no problems adjusting, slept wonderfully right away, and has continued to do so ever since. I recently got stranded two hours from home in a hotel room sans machine. I hope it never happens again! Woke up every hour either because I snored and startled myself awake, or I felt like I couldn't breathe. Yes, it was every hour, because every hour I looked at the clock. And I could not begin to describe just how dead dog awful I felt at work the next day. Foggy head, couldn't focus, nearly fell asleep at the wheel on the drive home, all from just ONE night! And no, it was not all in my head. My sleep study gave me, IIRC, 70+ apneas and 80+ hypopneas, from the (maybe) 4 hours that I actually slept. My CPAP currently has my typical AHI down to 0.6. This is probably why I slept so well on the very first night! Hoping my husband has a similar experience when he gets his!

[JediBob]

Just shy of 10 years. My first S8 was involved in the recall, and its replacement now has 18000+ hours on it.

...Bob

[Sir NoddinOff]

Three years. Like some others have testified, I should have gotten with the program many years ago.

[Wulfman...]

Just shy of 10 years. My first S8 was involved in the recall, and its replacement now has 18000+ hours on it.

...Bob

Was that the recall regarding them catching fire? There were a number of humorous cartoons/drawings of a dog lifting his leg to put out the fire on one.

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